Azure Skies

Sung by ensembles such as the Colorado Vocal Arts Ensemble, the Thornton Community Chorus, and the Renova New Music Ensemble, "Azure Skies" is an a cappella choral piece inspired by Maynard’s love for the American West. Born and raised in colorful Colorado, he has constantly been inspired by its incredible scenery, its hidden little places, and its loving people. His hometown of Colorado Springs sits at the base of the magnificent Pikes Peak — the mountain discovered by Zebulon Pike that inspired the poem "America the Beautiful." The land that poet Katharine Lee Bates described as she sat atop its summit lives up to its station as one of America's greatest treasures. In addition to honoring the brave sacrifice of the pilgrims who settled there and the stoic courage of heroes who defended our nation, she penned the memorable lines, "O beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain, For purple mountain majesties, Above the fruited plain!" Championing America's natural beauty and our foundational values of liberty and freedom, she elegantly encapsulated the spirit of Colorado and this great nation. Reading her impactful words, Maynard thought of what makes Colorado such a special place in his heart, from the awe-inspiring Garden of the Gods, to sunsets over humble ranches, to his relationship with the United States Air Force Academy. Bates’s poem inspired him to write his own that commemorated his Rocky Mountain heritage and celebrated this amazing country.